MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – A vehicle stop conducted Friday afternoon resulted in three arrests and the seizure of 7 pounds of methamphetamine, reported to be the largest seizure of the drug by the sheriff's office with an estimated value of more than $320,000.

Arrested following the stop were Santa Rosans Rosa Elvia Carrillo-Salas, 24; 24-year-old Artemio Rivera Sandoval; and 22-year-old Pedro Infante-Camarena, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.

At approximately 4:40 p.m. Friday, April 18, a deputy was traveling northbound on Highway 29 near Butts Canyon Road in Middletown behind a silver-colored Toyota sedan, which varied its speed between 38 and 50 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour zone, Brooks said.

The deputy also noticed that the driver was continually tapping the brakes, causing the brake lights to illuminate for no apparent reason. Brooks said the deputy followed the vehicle for approximately three miles and noticed the driving pattern continued.

Brooks said the deputy also noticed by the time they reached Grange Road there were nine vehicles behind him due to the Toyota impeding the flow of traffic. The deputy conducted an enforcement stop of the vehicle which pulled into the Hidden Valley Food Mart.

The deputy contacted the driver, who was identified as Carrillo-Salas, and explained the reason for the stop and advised she needed to pull over to allow cars to get around her. Brooks said the deputy asked for Carrillo’s driver’s license. As she handed the deputy her California Identification Card, the deputy noticed her hand was trembling and she appeared nervous.

During the stop, the deputy also contacted the front seat passenger, who was identified as Sandoval and the rear seat passenger, identified as Infante-Camarena, Brooks said. Carrillo said she did not possess a driver’s license and advised the deputy that neither Sandoval nor Infante had a driver’s license or spoke English.

A K-9 unit responded to the scene and assisted the deputy with the enforcement stop. The deputy had Carrillo exit the vehicle and advised she was detained for driving while unlicensed. Brooks said she denied having anyone local she could call to drive her car home.

Because neither Carrillo nor her passengers had a driver’s license and there was no one readily available to drive the vehicle, the deputy requested a tow truck respond to the location, Brooks said.

Prior to conducting an inventory search of the vehicle, the deputy requested the K-9 officer use his partner to conduct a search of the vehicles exterior. The K-9 officer deployed his canine which provided a positive alert to the odor of a controlled substance, according to Brooks.

During a search of the vehicle, deputies located what appeared to be approximately four pounds of methamphetamine. Brooks said the methamphetamine was packaged into 1 pound bags and was located in the backseat area of the vehicle.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task force was notified of the enforcement stop and the large quantity of methamphetamine seized. Brooks said narcotics detectives responded to the scene and took possession of the methamphetamine.

Carrillo-Salas, Sandoval and Infante-Camarena were arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of a controlled substance. Brooks said they were transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.

Due to the large amount of methamphetamine located, narcotics detectives felt the vehicle needed a more thorough search. They secured a search warrant for the vehicle and served it at approximately 9:45 p.m. April 18, Brooks said.

As detectives began a more detailed search of the vehicle they requested a second K-9 unit respond to assist. Brooks said the deputy deployed his canine to conduct a sniff and she provided several positive alerts to the exterior of the vehicle. He then deployed the canine to conduct a search of the interior of the vehicle, where she gave multiple positive alerts on the center console of the vehicle.

Detectives located a hidden compartment in the vehicle which was under the center console. The compartment door was electronically controlled and used a spring loaded trunk latch to keep it secured, Brooks said.

When detectives opened the compartment they located an additional 3 pounds of methamphetamine which was packaged similarly to the methamphetamine located in vehicle. Brooks said the detectives searched the underside of the vehicle and noticed the exhaust system had been re-routed to make room for the hidden compartment.

After locating the hidden compartment containing methamphetamine, detectives added the charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and using a false compartment to conceal narcotics to all three suspects, Brooks said.

Brooks said the total amount of methamphetamine seized had a gross weight of 3,219 grams or 7.09 pounds, which is the largest amount seized in Lake County. When sold in personal use quantities the street value of the methamphetamine seized would be approximately $321,900.

Detectives seized $2,494 from Sandoval, which is pending asset forfeiture proceedings, Brooks said.

Bail for Carrillo-Salas was set at $35,000, and jail records indicated she later posted the required percentage of bail and was released. Both Sandoval and Infante-Camarena were booked on no-bail immigration holds, and remained in custody on Tuesday.

The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County Animal Care and Control is offering free spay/neuter services for Kelseyville's community cats.

In the video above, Animal Care and Control Bill Davidson provides an update on the Kelseyville cats program, and asks the community to bring in community cats that need to be altered and vaccinated.

He also gives a tour of changes Medical Director Dr. Jennifer Barnett has made to the kennel to improve health.

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Five hundred people and 10,000 Easter eggs added up to a great time on Saturday in Clearlake’s Austin Park on Saturday.

The crowd was there for the annual First Assembly of God Community Easter Egg Hunt.

No one seems to know how many years the hunt has been held.

“This is the sixth one I’ve done,” said Assembly of God Pastor Steve Snyder, but the event was an annual fixture in the Clearlake community well before Snyder became involved with it.

Members of the First Assembly of God Church remember it going back to at least 10 years.

No matter. The hunt has served a vital purpose.

“We do it for a lot of kids (whose parents) don’t have the money for treats,” said Snyder. “Some of the families don’t have anything. That’s why we’re here.”

The hunt breaks down into age groups, such as 0-4 and 5-7.

But it is far more than just an Easter egg hunt.

“We have ticket drawings for Easter baskets and some for bikes,” said Snyder. “There is face painting (done by the youth group of the church) and games they play.”

About 60 youths help out in various ways.

Although the estimated 500 in attendance seemed to be a substantial crowd, Snyder said the event has drawn 800 to 900 in years past.

There are more Easter egg hunts scheduled to take place on Sunday.
 
The Lakeport Rotary Club will host its 89th annual Easter egg hunt at the Lake County Fairgrounds, 401 Martin St., with gates opening at 1:15 p.m. and the hunt beginning at 1:30 p.m. There will be three age groups for children ages birth to 12 years.

Kelseyville Presbyterian Church, 5340 Third St., also will host its annual Easter egg hunt, beginning at 11:30 a.m. All children up to 12 years of age are welcome.

Both the Lakeport and Kelseyville hunts take place, rain or shine.

Email John Lindblom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Assembly Bill 1434, authored by Assemblymember Mariko Yamada (D-Davis), establishing a ratepayer assistance program to help low-income Californians with their water bills passed the Assembly Committee on Utilities and Commerce in Sacramento on Monday.

In 2012, AB 685 (Eng) established that access to safe, clean, and affordable water is every human being’s right.

While the measure required the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to consider low-income rate relief, there was no requirement to implement such programs.

Moreover, they do not have authority over utilities that qualify as public agencies which are the vast majority of water service providers in the state.

“I am pleased to have the support of my colleagues as we work to help rural Californians that are significantly underserved when it comes to these Low-Income Rate programs,” Yamada stated. “The majority of smaller utility companies cannot or otherwise choose not to provide their low-income consumers with assistance. AB 1434 is intended to ensure water affordability.”

AB 1434 would direct the California Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) in conjunction with the Board of Equalization (BOE) to develop and implement a statewide Low-Income Water Rate Assistance Program for low-income ratepayers.

Low-income Californians need a statewide program to receive assistance in order to overcome the problems individual water service providers have in operating a low-income assistance program.

AB 1434 creates a functional collaboration for CSD and the BOE to create these programs and manage the fund that will help millions of Californians with their water bills.

This bill will be heard next in Assembly Committee on Appropriations.

Yamada represents the Fourth Assembly District which includes all or parts of Colusa, Lake, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties. 

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Friday Night Live Lake County is inviting the community to a town hall meeting on Wednesday, April 23, to discuss issues facing Lake County.

The event will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Soper Reese Theatre, 275 S. Main St. in Lakeport.

Learn about the problems facing the community and hear from local organizations committed to creating change, including the  youth-led Friday Night Live and Team DUI.

The meeting agenda will include a welcome and refreshments, presentations from Friday Night Live and Team DUI, a question-and-answer session and information from participating agencies.

Friday Night Live restarted recently at Upper Lake and Lower Lake high schools under the leadership of AmeriCorps Specialist and FNL Coordinator Victoria Garrison and AmeriCorps Team Leader and FNL Facilitator Kaila Budwell.

Lower Lake High’s Friday Night Live took third place in Northern California region for their “Directing Change” student PSA video contest on suicide prevention, chosen from among 400 submissions.

For more information contact Victoria Garrison at 707-263-8796, Extension 241, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

NORTH COAST, Calif. – For the past six years, Kyle Martinez has worked for the Willits Organized Crew (OC), going out as part of a 20-person wildland firefighting crew on an as needed basis.

This year, he is at the training one last time.  Only now he is helping train the crews before starting a new job with the Klamath Hotshots early next month.

“I think it’s the perfect program to start in if you’re thinking of firefighting as a career,” Martinez said.

For the past two weeks, participants ranging from first-time participants to more than a decade with the crews, have been in training in Willits.

This week new participants went through basic firefighting training, leading to a field exercise at Lake Mendocino Thursday with both new and more experienced crewmembers.

Mendocino National Forest firefighters from the Upper Lake Ranger District, including the Elk Mountain Hotshots and Engine 42, led the crews through the field exercise. This included learning how to build fireline, deploy fire shelters and properly lay a hose line from an engine.

The program attracted more than 160 applicants this year, with 130 completing the training.

“Participants come to the program because it allows for flexibility and the chance to try wildland firefighting and see if it’s a job they like or a career they want,” said Fire Training Officer Jesse Roach, who manages the OC program on the Mendocino National Forest.

Crew Leader Michael Allard has been with the Willits OC program for over 9 years and thinks the program is great, especially for those wanting to make firefighting a career.

“They get a foot in the door and get some great experience for when they do get on with an engine or a handcrew,” Allard said.

A lifelong Mendocino County resident now living in Potter Valley, Allard enjoys the work as well as the opportunity to help new firefighters.

“It’s great just getting out there and being able to fight fire on the line – I really enjoy that and being able to get some of these firefighters out to get their feet wet,” Allard said.

As the engine pumped water, Bryan Stencil and Michael Mondo were the first in line to practice the skill and lay out a hose line snaking above the shoreline as fellow crewmembers followed behind carrying their own sections of hose to participate in the drill. Both are new to the crew.

For Stencil, who relocated to Willits from San Bernardino, the Willits OC program is giving hope for a career, a new chance and a reason for his kids to be proud of him.

“I think the program is very educational. I think everybody should do it,” Stencil said. “I actually made a new friend and this got me out of what I was doing that was no good.”

He added that he is looking forward to gaining more experience and hopes one day to become a smokejumper or dozer operator for the Forest Service.

“This summer I’m definitely looking forward most to work. I don’t want fires to start, but if they do I definitely want to be there to help put them out,” Stencil said.

Mondo has been encouraged to join the program for years by his younger brother, a member of the Elk Mountain Hotshots.

He’s enthusiastic to be a part of the team and gain more experience.

“I’m a rugby player, so running with a crew of 20 people goes hand-in-hand with building a team, teamwork, camaraderie, communication and cooperation,” Mondo said.

Even though it’s his first year, he is already seeing the benefits of the program in providing wildland firefighting support.

“It’s a lot of fun and I think really beneficial to have a lot of qausi-trained people out to help if something happens,” Mondo said.

The crews, hosted by the Mendocino National Forest, will be available on an as-needed basis for incidents in California or across the country this coming fire season.  OC crews are activated as the need arises due to both the severity and number of active wildfires, providing needed additional emergency support that can be mobilized quickly.

“The OC crews are very important to the Forest, providing that increased support when firefighting resources are stretched thin both locally and nationally,” Roach said.

Martinez, who lives in Redwood Valley, stated that over the past six years with the program he has been dispatched with the crews to Minnesota, Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon, as well as throughout California.

Assignments are two-week commitments, with crews dispatched for 14 days.

Each 18-person OC crew is dispatched with up to five Forest Service firefighters who serve as bosses and mentors for the OC crew members.

“We’ve had a lot of great firefighters and leaders come out of our OC program and start great careers with the Forest Service,” Roach said.  “This is a great opportunity for new and returning OC crewmembers to work with Forest Service firefighters from across the country, networking and building relationships.”

For Martinez, the Willits OC program is a big part of why he is able to start a career with the Forest Service as a wildland firefighter.

“I’m looking forward to learning more and new things and hopefully moving up to the smokejumpers in three to four years,” Martinez said. “Just being on the Klamath Hotshots is what I’m looking forward to most – having a good fire season.”

For more information on the Mendocino National Forest’s OC program, please call 530-934-3316 or visit www.fs.usda.gov/mendocino .

LUCERNE, Calif. – The Committee to Save the Lake 2014 invites the community to attend an informative town hall meeting on Wednesday, April 23.

The town hall will be held beginning at 6 p.m. at the Lucerne Alpine Senior Center on 3985 Country Club Drive.

Measure L is the countywide half-cent sales tax to protect and restore Clear Lake. The measure will be on the June 3 ballot.  

Scott De Leon, head of Lake County Department of Water Resources, will talk about Measure L's objectives, the programs it will fund and the guarantees to ensure the money is spent as intended.  

An open forum for questions will follow.

There is no charge to attend the town hall meeting. Light refreshments will be served.

For more information call the Lake County Chamber of Commerce at 707-263-5092 or visit www.savethelake.info .

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Five lovely cats are waiting for homes at Lake County Animal Care and Control this week.

The cats – three males and two females – range in age from 1 year to 9 years of age, with a mix of coats in a range of colors.

In addition to spaying or neutering, cats that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are microchipped before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets there, hoping you'll choose them.

In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .

The following cats at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (other cats pictured on the animal control Web site that are not listed here are still “on hold”).

Female brown tabby

This female brown tabby is 1 year old.

She has a short coat and has been spayed.

She is in cat room kennel No. 7, ID No. 39398.

Male domestic long hair mix

This male domestic long hair mix is 6 years old.

He has a black and white coat, and has been neutered.

Find him in cat room kennel No. 13, ID No. 39516.

Female domestic short hair mix

This female domestic short hair mix is of undetermined age.

She has a brown coat, and it was not reported if she has been spayed.

She's in cat room kennel No. 22, ID No. 39491.

'Atlas'

“Atlas” is a 5-year-old male Siamese mix.

He has a short coat with seal point markings and blue eyes, and has been neutered.

He's in cat room kennel No. 38, ID No. 39285.

Male Siamese mix

This male Siamese mix is 9 years old.

He has blue eyes, a short coat, weighs 16 pounds and has been neutered.

Find him in cat room kennel No. 95a, ID No. 39484.

Adoptable cats also can be seen at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Cats_and_Kittens.htm or at www.petfinder.com .

Please note: Cats listed at the shelter's Web page that are said to be “on hold” are not yet cleared for adoption.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – As Easter arrives, it's another full house of dogs needing homes at Lake County Animal Care and Control.

Ranging from 14 weeks to 8 years, the dogs include mixes of chow, shepherd, retriever, Chihuahua, pit bull, beagle, pug and Catahoula.

The shelter is short of space and prospective owners are urged to come in as soon as possible and give the dogs chances for forever homes this spring season.

Dogs that are adopted from Lake County Animal Care and Control are either neutered or spayed, microchipped and, if old enough, given a rabies shot and county license before being released to their new owner. License fees do not apply to residents of the cities of Lakeport or Clearlake.

If you're looking for a new companion, visit the shelter. There are many great pets hoping you'll choose them.

In addition to the animals featured here, all adoptable animals in Lake County can be seen here: http://bit.ly/Z6xHMb .

The following dogs at the Lake County Animal Care and Control shelter have been cleared for adoption (additional dogs on the animal control Web site not listed are still “on hold”).

Male German Shepherd mix pup

This male German Shepherd mix is 15 weeks old.

He has a long black and brown coat and has been altered.

Find him in kennel No. 2c, ID No. 39019.

Shepherd mix pup

This male shepherd mix puppy is 14 weeks old.

He weighs nearly 16 pounds and has been neutered. His eyes are green and he has a short tan and black coat.

He's in kennel No. 3b, ID No. 39313.

'Monches'

“Monches” is a 2-year-old male Chihuahua mix.

He has a short white and tan spotted coat, and has not yet been neutered.

He's in kennel No. 5, ID No. 39309.

Beagle-pug mix

This female beagle-pug mix is of undetermined age.

She weighs 32 pounds, has a curly white and brown coat, and has been spayed.

Find her in kennel No. 6, ID No. 39493.

Male Chihuahua mix

This male Chihuahua mix is 3 years old.

He has a short black coat and weighs 10 pounds. Shelter staff did not report if he had been neutered.

He's in kennel No. 7a, ID No. ID: 39318.

Female Chihuahua mix

This female Chihuahua mix is 8 years old.

She has a short tan coat and weighs 12 pounds. It was not reported if she has been spayed.

Find her in kennel No. 7b, ID No. 39319.

Male Labrador Retriever mix

This male Labrador Retriever mix is 2 years old.

He weighs 57 pounds, has a short black and white coat, and has not yet been neutered.

He's in kennel No. 10, ID No. 39388.

Australian Shepherd mix

This female Australian Shepherd mix is 4 years old.

She weighs 64 pounds, and has a long black and tan coat. Shelter staff did not report if she has been spayed.

Find her in kennel No. 13, ID No. 39403.

'Boots'

“Boots” is a 4-year-old male Chihuahua mix.

He has a short brown and black coat, and gold eyes, and has not yet been neutered.

He's in kennel No. 15, ID No. 39480.

Male chow chow mix

This male chow chow mix is 6 years old.

He has a medium-length black coat and weighs 68 pounds, and has been neutered.

Shelter staff said he is very mellow, and has been on his own, traveling the streets for some time. He may have been abandoned.

He is good with other dogs, and is very sweet, not shy or skittish.

Find him in kennel No. 17, ID No. 39308.

Male pit bull terrier mix

This male pit bull terrier mix is 8 months old.

He has green eyes, a short brown brindle and white coat, weighs 38 pounds and has not been neutered.

Shelter staff said he is good with other dogs, is well-mannered for a pup and eager to learn.

He's in kennel No. 25, ID No. 39269.

Pit bull terrier mix

This female pit bull terrier mix is 14 weeks old.

She has cropped ears, a short brown and white coat, and weighs 22 pounds. Shelter staff did not report if she has been spayed.

Find her in kennel No. 27, ID No. 39400.

Labrador Retriever-shepherd mix

This female Labrador Retriever-shepherd mix is of undetermined age.

She has a short white coat and weighs 12 pounds. It was not reported if she has been altered.

She is in kennel No. 28, ID No. 39404.

'Sam'

“Sam” is a 4-year-old Catahoula mix.

He has a short tricolor coat and blue eyes, weighs 55 pounds and has been neutered.

Shelter staff said he is good with dogs – small or large – as well as cats, but not chickens. They said he would make a great family pet for children.

Find him in kennel No. 30, ID No. 39494.

To fill out an adoption application online visit http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control/Adopt/Dog___Cat_Adoption_Application.htm .

Lake County Animal Care and Control is located at 4949 Helbush in Lakeport, next to the Hill Road Correctional Facility.

Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday. The shelter is open from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Visit the shelter online at http://www.co.lake.ca.us/Government/Directory/Animal_Care_And_Control.htm .

For more information call Lake County Animal Care and Control at 707-263-0278.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – How long does it take a few hundred energetic children to gather up 2,880 Easter eggs?

Not as long as you might think.

The 89th annual Lakeport Rotary Easter Egg Hunt was over in the blink of an eye – or, more appropriately for the season, two shakes of a lamb's tail – early Sunday afternoon.

Hundreds of parents and children converged at the Lake County Fairgrounds for the festivities, with children joining the hunt in three age groups, from babies up to 12 year olds.

The children made quick work of the lengthy preparations that Easter Egg Hunt Chair Greg Scott and fellow Rotarians had made for the event.

Eggs were piled high in all kinds of Easter baskets, featuring everything from Batman to fluffy pink decorations.

Rotarian Kenny Parlet, who was the event's announcer, estimated those thousands of Easter eggs were gathered up in roughly four minutes.

Mark Buehnerkemper, another Rotarian, said that four minutes wasn't even the fastest in the hunt's history.

In the midst of all of those Easter eggs, there was reported to be at least one gold one that earned its finder a small cash prize.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The National Auto Sport Association and California Highway Patrol are partnering to offer a car control clinic on Saturday, May 3.

The clinic will begin at 8 a.m. with briefings and introductions in the parking lot at Lakeside Family Fun and Event Center, 872 Lakeport Blvd.

The association and CHP have conducted several of these clinics in Lake County and they remain a popular hands-on driving experience.  

New or experienced drivers will learn the proper way to drive out of trouble.

Ever drop two wheels off the asphalt and jerk up onto the roadway and live to tell about it? Consider yourself fortunate. Many find themselves shooting across the road into an oncoming car in the other lane or into a tree.  

The clinic teaches the proper response, giving participants hands-on experience, without panic or overreactions, and they have fun in the process.

The National Auto Sport Association and the CHP have teamed up to create a most effective method to learn the right moves. They use experienced volunteer coaches to instill in each driver the right moves by teaching the proper muscle memory for dealing with difficult situations.  

They coach drivers in hard braking exercises, including turns while max braking; slalom through cones to get the feel of where the corners are on your car; a skid pad that enables you to get your car loose then practice recovering control.

Practice and become skilled at backing through cones in a slalom, backwards, and a favorite, learn to parallel park from experts.

A very important exercise for Lake County residents is the two-wheel-off-the-roadway exercise. Practice that maneuver and your muscle memory helps get you out of a rough patch when distractions or conditions create dangerous situations.

Spend the day, drive your car all day and learn to control your car in uncommon situations.

Check out the www.nasacarcontrol.org Web site to get a feel of the program, register and read comments from previous graduates.

The fee is $99 per person, which covers insurance costs plus other administrative costs. Scholarships are available for those that are in need. The class number is limited to 20.

For more information, contact Eric Wheaton of the National Auto Sport Association at 707-279-4840 or Officer Kory Reynolds at the Clear Lake CHP office at 707-279-0103.

Earth's poles are separated by four oceans, six continents and more than 12,000 nautical miles.

Turns out, that's not so far apart.

New data from NASA's AIM spacecraft have revealed “teleconnections” in Earth's atmosphere that stretch all the way from the North Pole to the South Pole and back again, linking weather and climate more closely than simple geography would suggest.

For example, says Cora Randall, AIM science team member and Chair of the Dept. of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at the University of Colorado, “we have found that the winter air temperature in Indianapolis, Indiana, is well correlated with the frequency of noctilucent clouds over Antarctica.”

Noctilucent clouds, or “NLCs,” are Earth's highest clouds.  They form at the edge of space 83 km above our planet's polar regions in a layer of the atmosphere called the mesosphere.  Seeded by “meteor smoke,” NLCs are made of tiny ice crystals that glow electric blue when sunlight lances through their cloud-tops.

AIM was launched in 2007 to investigate these “night-shining” clouds, to discover how they form and to learn about their inner chemistry.  As is often the case, however, when exploring the unknown, researchers found something they weren't even looking for: teleconnections.

“It has been a surprise,” says Hampton University professor of atmospheric and planetary science James Russell, Principal Investigator of the AIM mission. “Years ago when we were planning the AIM mission, our attention was focused on a narrow layer of the atmosphere where NLCs form.  Now we are finding out this layer manifests evidence of long-distance connections in the atmosphere far from the NLCs themselves.”

One of these teleconnections links the Arctic stratosphere with the Antarctic mesosphere.

“Stratospheric winds over the Arctic control circulation in the mesosphere,” explains Randall. “When northern stratospheric winds slow down, a ripple effect around the globe causes the southern mesosphere to become warmer and drier, leading to fewer NLCs. When northern winds pick up again, the southern mesosphere becomes colder and wetter, and the NLCs return.”

This January, a time of year when southern NLCs are usually abundant, the AIM spacecraft observed a sudden and unexpected decline in the clouds. Interestingly, about two weeks earlier, winds in the Arctic stratosphere were strongly perturbed, leading to a distorted polar vortex.

“We believe that this triggered a ripple effect that led to a decline in noctilucent clouds half-way around the world,” says Laura Holt of the University of Colorado's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics. “This is the same polar vortex that made headlines this winter when parts of the USA experienced crippling cold and ice.”

Holt took a careful look at meteorological data and found that, indeed, there was a statistical link between winter weather in the USA and the decline in noctilucent clouds over Antarctica.

“We picked Indianapolis as an example, because I have family living there,” says Randall, “but the same was true of many northern cities: cold air temperatures on the ground were correlated with NLC frequencies high above Antarctica two weeks later,” she says.

The two week delay is, apparently, how much time it takes for the teleconnection signal to propagate through three layers of atmosphere (the troposphere, stratosphere and mesosphere), and from pole to pole.

It is a complicated topic, but this much is clear: “NLCs are a valuable resource for studying long-distance connections in the atmosphere,” says Russell, “and we are just getting started.”

Dr. Tony Phillips works for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.